Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-11-08

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The chart below shows what Anthropology graduates from one university did after finishing their undergraduate degree course. The table shows the salaries of the anthropologists in work after five years.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparison where relevant.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The chart illustrates what the graduate Anthropology students from a university did after completing their undergraduate degree. On the other hand, the table displays the income of the anthropologists in work after five years.

Overall, in the chart, majority of the students got into full-time work and few of them had part-time work and postgraduate study. For the table, the three types of employment earn highest salary which is over a hundred thousand.

Initially, after graduated, 52% of students work as full-time worker which is half of the graduates. However, 5% of students joined part time work and some of them enrolled postgraduate study. Part-time employees and unemployed were 15% and 12% respectivelly. 8% studied full-time postgraduate study and the rest 8% remain unknown.

On the other hand, there are three types of employment; freelance consultants, government sector and private companies. Regarding the remote consultants, 40% of workers earned over a hundred thousand and 75 thousand to 99 thousand dollars. Concerning the government employees, 50% received over 1 hundred thosand dollars which lead the highest among all income. Lastly, private companies earned more than a hundred thousand in 30% of labours and 10% of employees had between 25000 to 49999 of salary.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You cover both the destination chart and the salary table, and your overview correctly identifies full-time work as the largest destination and government employees as having the highest share in the top salary band. Several details, however, are incomplete or inaccurate. The 5% figure is for graduates combining part-time work with postgraduate study, not simply those who “joined part time work”; the separate part-time-work figure is 15%. The salary discussion also omits the $50,000–$74,999 band and gives an unclear account of freelance consultants: 40% earned in each of the two highest bands, rather than one combined category. Report the main comparisons across all three employment types more clearly and precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for the chart and table. This helps the reader distinguish the two visuals, and phrases such as “On the other hand” and “Lastly” signal transitions. However, progression within the paragraphs is sometimes unclear. In the chart paragraph, “5% of students joined part time work and some of them enrolled postgraduate study” blurs two distinct categories, while “the rest 8% remain unknown” does not clearly connect to the preceding figures. The table paragraph moves between salary bands without a consistent order. Use clearer links between each category and its figure, and organise the table from lower to higher salaries or by employment type.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “undergraduate degree,” “postgraduate study,” “freelance consultants,” and “government sector,” so the topic is generally clear. However, some word choices and collocations are imprecise or awkward, such as “the three types of employment earn highest salary,” “remote consultants,” and “30% of labours.” There are also spelling errors in “respectivelly” and “thosand,” and “income” is less precise than “salary” in this context. These issues sometimes make the intended meaning less clear, particularly in the table description. Aim for accurate, natural phrases for describing proportions and salary bands, and check spelling before finishing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple sentences and more complex forms, including contrast clauses beginning with “However” and “which.” Meaning is usually recoverable, but errors recur in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “after graduated” needs a subject and a correctly formed verb (“after graduating”), while “52% of students work as full-time worker” has inconsistent tense and number. “The three types of employment earn highest salary” also lacks an article and has an awkward grammatical relationship between subject and verb. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and plural forms, and build longer sentences around clear subject–verb patterns. More reliable control of these basics would make your comparisons easier to follow.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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